He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 310

(310) Those Who Dream of Assassinating Napoleon

In Spain, a powerful figure holds the nation’s reins.

“Oh, Cadoudal! Welcome. Thanks to your efforts, I’ve made it all the way to Paris.”

He once enjoyed hosting banquets in his grand Madrid mansion, but now he’s content with the Fontainebleau palace.

This is because he narrowly escaped losing everything.

He owes it all to the imposing Cadoudal, and he can’t help but be pleased.

He was drinking coffee served by his confidant, Izquierdo, when he abruptly stood.

Cadoudal laughed heartily and grasped the hand of Godoy, the powerful figure in Spain.

“What have I done, Generalissimo? I merely sought to promote friendly relations between France and Spain.”

“It was a stroke of luck. Without this marriage, I would have already been ousted in Madrid.”

“How is the atmosphere in Madrid? It was fine when I left.”

Godoy grinned.

“Prince Ferdinand has decided to come in person, along with the Queen of Portugal and all his siblings!”

Ferdinand, the future Crown Prince of Spain, boasts a long, formal name of over 30 words, combining all the names and surnames from his paternal and maternal lines.

In an era when Spain remains one of Europe’s great powers, royal families would consider him a potential groom for their daughters.

He is, after all, the heir to a vast kingdom occupying two-thirds of the Iberian Peninsula and the New World.

However, Ferdinand’s position in Spain is precarious.

He has a strained relationship with Godoy, who is favored by the Queen.

The reality of Spain is that the Queen manipulates the powerless King, and Godoy, in turn, manipulates the Queen.

Godoy proposed a deal: the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in exchange for marrying the princess.

He worried Ferdinand might hesitate, but Ferdinand readily accepted.

Perhaps he fell in love with Marie Therese’s portrait.

Godoy decided to add a ‘show’ by persuading the Queen.

He brought all six heirs—two princes and four princesses—to Paris.

This would make it difficult for France to break off the engagement, even for the sake of Spain’s reputation.

Cadoudal whistled.

“France will have no choice but to accept the engagement. Heh heh.”

“That’s right! France values public opinion, doesn’t it? Now, it’s time to sway public opinion, isn’t it?”

“A shift from private talks to public pressure. An excellent plan.”

Godoy patted Cadoudal on the shoulder and exclaimed,

“I learned it all from you, Cadoudal. You turned the situation around instantly by pushing for the marriage when the nobles were pressuring me! Hahaha!”

Cadoudal was merely a French exile.

How could he become a celebrity in Madrid?

William Wickham, a prominent figure in British diplomacy, directly introduced Cadoudal to the Spanish royal family.

Of course, Cadoudal’s talent allowed him to win Godoy’s favor and devise strategies.

But it would have been impossible without the British Embassy in Madrid’s support.

Furthermore, there was another helper.

A middle-aged man, puffing himself up behind Cadoudal, spoke.

“Don’t forget my contribution either, Generalissimo Godoy.”

François Barthélemy, the French ambassador to Madrid.

Barthélemy wasn’t merely watching Godoy proceed with Marie Therese’s marriage.

He was actively cooperating and deceiving Paris.

This occurred while Talleyrand was busy concluding the Rhine Confederation and Eugene was dealing with the Russian issue.

Cadoudal twisted his lips strangely and spoke more politely to Barthélemy.

“Now that I’ve come to France, there’s a small problem, Ambassador.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I heard the princess has a lover. Is that acceptable?”

As Barthélemy’s face hardened, Godoy waved his hand.

“Humph, even if she had a child, this marriage must proceed! If the Crown Prince wants to become king, he will come to his senses!”

Godoy had also met Queen Maria Luisa of Spain before their marriage.

That’s why he doesn’t care about the Queen having lovers.

More than anything, Godoy believed a queen only needed to produce an heir.

He seemed broad-minded, but Cadoudal laughed inwardly at the chaotic Spanish royal family.

“Such determination is reassuring. But to be sure, how about this?”

As Godoy turned his gaze, Cadoudal spoke in a low voice.

“I heard that her lover was originally a page [a young attendant in a royal court].”

“Is that so? From a royal page to a general now, and the Marshal’s adopted son. He’s a resourceful fellow.”

“You’re much better than him, Generalissimo. However, a page should remain a page. So…”

Cadoudal’s eyes gleamed as he spoke.

“How about having him attend to the princess at the engagement ceremony?”

Godoy’s eyes widened, and he clapped his hands and laughed.

“That’s good. Indeed, Cadoudal, you are the best spy Wickham introduced me to. Hahaha!”

Of course, this would make Eugene, the most powerful man in France, resent Spain.

However, Barthélemy only looked sullen and remained silent.

Cadoudal, unconcerned, smiled shamelessly and paid his respects.

“You flatter me. I merely hope to return to France officially. I just want the former royalists to be pardoned and allowed to enter the country after this marriage is completed.”

“Don’t worry. Once this marriage is completed, Consul Bonaparte will eventually rush to introduce a monarchy. If that happens, wouldn’t he naturally issue an amnesty for the royalists for the sake of national unity?”

“That’s right. It has been proven in the last election that 40 percent of the people still long for a king.”

Barthélemy, a sympathetic constitutional monarchist, joined the conversation, and Godoy burst out laughing.

“In the end, the country is ruled by the king and the nobles who assist him. Hahaha!”

Cadoudal, watching the scene, narrowed his eyes and smiled.

“Indeed, that is very true.”

Of course, Cadoudal had other intentions.

***

Here, a man born the son of a farmer dreamed of equality.

“I don’t know why I should join hands with someone like you.”

François-Noël Babeuf, commonly known as Gracchus [a reference to the Roman Gracchi brothers, known for their land reform efforts], is a prominent figure in French political circles.

He repeatedly served as a member of the Lower House of the Council of Five Hundred and has made a name for himself as even more radical than the Jacobins [a revolutionary political club during the French Revolution].

He advocates for the sans-culottes [the common people of the lower classes in 18th century France, a large number of whom became radical and militant partisans of the French Revolution] who have no property and argues that the bourgeoisie’s property should be redistributed.

In later history, he is considered so radical that he is called the father of communism.

But why is Babeuf facing the ultra-royalist Cadoudal in a mansion?

“What’s wrong with me? Hehe, other than being too big, I’m quite presentable, aren’t I?”

“What should I call a sans-culotte working for a king?”

“Oh, you seem to have forgotten where your political funds come from?”

Cadoudal asked, sneering.

“Isn’t it from Wickham’s Alien Office [a British government department responsible for managing foreign exiles and intelligence gathering]?”

It sounds like an alien office, but it is actually the British department in charge of foreign exiles.

However, as of 1802, this office is not just a department for handling complaints from exiles.

It is operating as a foreign intelligence agency, using a wide network of exiles.

The funds from here go to Jersey [one of the Channel Islands, located between England and France], an island between France and England.

Originally a territory of the Duchy of Normandy, it is an independent territory that is only loyal to the British King.

Wickham’s subordinate and claimant to the Duchy of Bouillon, spymaster Aubertin, resides there.

Aubertin is Cadoudal’s superior and Babeuf’s sponsor.

The political funds of Babeuf, who is cornered in France due to his radical claims, are actually coming from England.

Babeuf frowned and retorted bluntly.

“Just because our Panthéon Club’s operating expenses come from England doesn’t mean we have to follow England’s orders.”

“I’ll be sure to tell that to Wickham, the head of the office. But if you want to create the world you dream of, you’ll have to cooperate with me.”

“What do you know about what I dream of?”

Cadoudal scoffed.

“Well, to overturn everything, seize the property of the rich, and share it all together. Isn’t that it?”

Babeuf opened his mouth wide and clicked his tongue.

“Truly vulgar. But in the end, you’re right. A royalist like you wouldn’t know that world!”

“Humph, when it comes to communal ownership, a rebel like me knows better than a revolutionary like you. We seize together, use together, and kill together. Very fairly.”

“I like the last part.”

Suddenly, Babeuf’s eyes flashed with murderous intent.

“We must fairly present death to Bonaparte as well. Just like Marat died! Only then can we prevent this country from going down the path of dictatorship!”

Babeuf and Marat [Jean-Paul Marat, a radical journalist and politician during the French Revolution] once parted ways because their ideas did not match.

Thanks to that, Babeuf did not follow Marat during the coup and preserved his life.

But even now, Babeuf thinks.

Marat was right, and if they had seized power then, France would have become an equal country.

Cadoudal, who was not interested in either, shrugged his thick shoulders.

“Good. The important thing is the time and method. You know the internal affairs better, right? Do you have anything planned?”

“There are three things: the road to the opera house, the commute from Malmaison to the Tuileries, and installing gunpowder in the Tuileries Palace itself.”

“All three have a low probability. Do you think a gunpowder bomb is so easy to install? First of all, you have to hide the smell of gunpowder, set the time, and it will fail if the humidity changes even a little.”

During the royalist rebellion in the Vendée-Brittany region, Cadoudal learned one specialty.

Gunpowder explosion attacks.

As a farmer, Cadoudal’s specialty was maximizing explosions by using the igniting properties of flour.

The one that exploded at Lafayette’s house was also a method using a pile of gunpowder and flour.

However, Cadoudal needed a more certain place.

“Then, what are you suggesting?”

At Babeuf’s question, Cadoudal spread out a map of Paris from his pocket on the table.

-Chwaaaak!

Cadoudal said to Babeuf, who was looking at the map.

“I have a plan prepared only for this moment.”

“Wait, isn’t this Revolution Square?”

“Louis XIV Square would be the correct name, wouldn’t it? Here, an event celebrating the marriage with Spain will soon be held. Soon, the engagement ceremony. In fact…”

The modern name in original history is Place Vendôme [a square in Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Garden and east of the Église de la Madeleine], a place north of the Tuileries Palace.

In modern times, there is a statue of Napoleon, but not now.

During the revolution, it was also the site where the revolting people clashed with the royal guards.

Babeuf’s eyes widened as he looked at Cadoudal, who was staring at the square.

“Wait, could it be, you…”

Cadoudal twisted his lips.

“That’s right. It will be a bloody engagement ceremony. An engagement ceremony prepared only for that.”

This is the sea that Cadoudal has prepared.

***

However, France cannot be overthrown by simply killing Napoleon.

“Now, General Malet. Have you made up your mind?”

Claude François de Malet, a general in the French Revolutionary Army.

This man was strangely in charge of the Alps region, but he is now a reservist.

This is because he opposed Napoleon’s assumption of power as Consul.

In original history, he was later forgiven by Napoleon and appointed governor of Pavia, Italy.

However, he eventually fell out with Napoleon and launched a rebellion in Paris after the failure of the Russian expedition.

If he had succeeded, Napoleon’s fate would have ended on the way back from Russia, not at Waterloo.

But Malet failed.

Malet, unaware of his future, looked at Cadoudal and nodded heavily.

“I have.”

“Then, you must prepare the price. England has promised a huge amount of money if successful, and asylum if failed. Also, a general’s position in the British army.”

“Did Prime Minister Pitt promise that?”

Cadoudal smiled at Malet’s question.

“Of course. Hehehe.”

In the end, the one who planned all of this was the retired Prime Minister, Pitt [William Pitt the Younger, a British statesman who dominated British politics].

However, Cadoudal had no intention of simply ending up as a puppet.

He will succeed in this assassination, overthrow the government, and seize power.

When the king returns, Cadoudal will be the number one power holder.

At that time, Malet said with an uneasy face.

“There is one thing you must be careful of.”

“What is it?”

“You must not only kill Napoleon. You must blow away Eugene Freischütz together.”

Although he mainly served in the Alpine Army, Malet was also a person in the military.

He has heard Eugene’s reputation and achievements countless times.

Whether his ability is real or not, the important thing is the military’s trust.

If Eugene survives, he can quickly gather the army and confront the royalist party.

It would be difficult for Malet, who only commands a part of the reserve forces, to deal with him.

“I have a way for that. Didn’t they originally call Eugene Freischütz the princess’s knight?”

In other words, the strategy that Cadoudal advised Godoy is to deal with Eugene.

“Wait, are you going to involve the princess? That goes against the cause of our Chouannerie [a royalist uprising in Brittany and Maine during the French Revolution]!”

“Nonsense. The princess is not a prince. She is not an heir to the throne either. Rather, she is an existence that goes against the interests of France. We have to give up land.”

“Th, that’s true, but…”

Cadoudal solemnly declared to Malet, who was originally a nobleman and a royalist.

“Sacrifice the few for the sake of the many. Keep that in mind. For the day the King returns.”

Malet sighed deeply and nodded heavily again.

“For the return of the King.”

Those who await King Louis XVIII, the Chouannerie.

Their bomb terror plot began to engulf Paris.

A plot sponsored by England, manipulated by Spain, and executed by the French royalists.

A plot to overthrow the world with the assassination of Napoleon.